The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’
English Standard Version (ESV)
The accusers frame Jesus’s common humanity and fellowship as gluttony and drunkenness, showing how easily judgment twists ordinary actions into sin. By calling him a "friend of tax collectors and sinners," they reveal their own exclusion and condemnation, rather than Jesus's genuine compassion.
The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’
English Standard Version (ESV)
Jesus is responding to the sharp criticism of his generation, contrasting their rejection of him with the positive response of the common people and tax collectors to John the Baptist's ministry. He uses the analogy of children playing in the marketplace, where no tune pleases them, to illustrate how they found fault with both John's austere lifestyle and Jesus' more social approach. This verse highlights the accusations leveled against Jesus for his inclusive meals and interactions with those considered outcasts.
Why did Jesus compare his generation to stubborn children? And why is their rejection of him and John so revealing?
Jesus uses a vivid marketplace analogy to expose the stubbornness of his generation. They complained that John the Baptist was too austere ('neither eating nor drinking'), and then accused Jesus of being too indulgent ('glutton and a drunkard').
This shows their unwillingness to accept God's message in any form. They weren't looking for truth; they were looking for excuses. Whether John's strictness or Jesus's fellowship, nothing satisfied their critical hearts. They were like children refusing to play along, no matter the tune.
This highlights a timeless human tendency: judging God's messengers and methods by our own expectations, rather than by God's grace and truth.
Jesus was called a 'friend of tax collectors and sinners.' How does this accusation reveal more about the accusers than about Jesus?
The accusation that Jesus was a 'friend of tax collectors and sinners' was intended as a harsh critique, painting Him as morally compromised. But Jesus deliberately associated with these groups.
Why? Because His mission was to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10). He didn't embrace their sin, but He embraced them, showing them the love and forgiveness of God.
This wasn't evidence of His sin, but of His and . True wisdom, as Jesus says, is 'vindicated by her children' – those who respond to His call, like the tax collectors and sinners who repented, contrasted with the religious elite who rejected Him.
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Understand the original words
huios tou anthrōpou · Greek Noun Phrase
A title for the Messiah, emphasizing both His human nature and His messianic authority as the apocalyptic figure described in Daniel 7.
telōnēs · Greek Noun
Those who collect taxes for the Roman government, often viewed by Jewish society as traitors and ceremonially unclean due to their constant contact with Gentiles.
hamartōlos · Greek Noun
Individuals who habitually live in transgression of the law of God, standing in opposition to the religious elite and in need of repentance and salvation.
This verse captures the stark contrast between Jesus' inclusive approach and the rigid judgment of the religious elite. The background shows a pattern: John the Baptist's austerity was criticized as demonic, while Jesus' more common social interaction was labeled as gluttony and drunkenness. Both were rejected by the same judgmental hearts.
c. AD 27
John the Baptist begins ministry
John the Baptist starts preaching a baptism of repentance in the Judean wilderness, calling people to prepare for the coming of the Lord.
c. AD 28
Jesus begins public ministry
Jesus begins His public ministry, teaching, healing, and calling disciples. He travels throughout Galilee and Judea.
c. AD 28— this verse
Feast at Matthew's house
Jesus attends a banquet hosted by Matthew, a tax collector, where He dines with tax collectors and other sinners. This event sparks criticism from the Pharisees and scribes.
c. AD 29
Jesus sends disciples to John
John the Baptist, imprisoned, sends disciples to ask Jesus if He is the expected Messiah. Jesus points to His miraculous works as evidence.
c. AD 30
Jesus' ministry nears its end
As Jesus' ministry progresses, the opposition from religious leaders intensifies, highlighting the divided reception to His message and methods.
This passage is Jesus' direct response to John the Baptist's inquiry and uses the exact same contrast between John's austere lifestyle and Jesus' more social one, highlighting the people's unreasonable criticisms of both.
Luke 5:30Here, the Pharisees and their scribes also question Jesus' disciples about why He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners, mirroring the accusation made in Luke 7:34.
1 Corinthians 1:27-28Paul echoes the principle seen in Luke 7, where God often chooses the 'foolish' and 'weak' things of the world to shame the wise and strong, underscoring why Jesus associated with those the religious elite despised.
Proverbs 23:20This Old Testament proverb warns against excessive drinking and gluttony, providing a cultural backdrop to the accusations leveled against Jesus, even though His actions were not characterized by such excess.
calvinLuke 7:29-35: "And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John."
- But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children, who sit in the market-place, and call out to their companions, 17. And say, We have played on the flute to you, and you have not danced; we have sung mournful airs to you, and you have not lamented. 18. For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil. 19. The Son of man came ea…
pulpitLuke 7:34: "The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners!"
Verse 34. - The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners! The reproach belonged to the general way of our Lord's way of living, consorting as he did with men and women in the common everyday life of man, sharing in their joys as in their sorrows, in their festivit…
The accusers frame Jesus’s common humanity and fellowship as gluttony and drunkenness, showing how easily judgment twists ordinary actions into sin. By calling him a "friend of tax collectors and sinners," they reveal their own exclusion and condemnation, rather than Jesus's genuine compassion.
Jesus is responding to the sharp criticism of his generation, contrasting their rejection of him with the positive response of the common people and tax collectors to John the Baptist's ministry. He uses the analogy of children playing in the marketplace, where no tune pleases them, to illustrate how they found fault with both John's austere lifestyle and Jesus' more social approach. This verse highlights the accusations leveled against Jesus for his inclusive meals and interactions with those considered outcasts.
Jesus is responding to the sharp criticism of his generation, contrasting their rejection of him with the positive response of the common people and tax collectors to John the Baptist's ministry. He uses the analogy of children playing in the marketplace, where no tune pleases them, to illustrate how they found fault with both John's austere lifestyle and Jesus' more social approach. This verse highlights the accusations leveled against Jesus for his inclusive meals and interactions with those considered outcasts.
"The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’" — The accusers frame Jesus’s common humanity and fellowship as gluttony and drunkenness, showing how easily judgment twists ordinary actions into sin. By calling him a "friend of tax collectors and sin…
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Last reviewed October 2026